Film record cards and method for making the same



Dean 5, w E. P. KOLLAR 9 FI M RECORD CARDS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME Filed DecT 25, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ERNEST P. KOLLAR m 48 R\ as INVENTOH W/ BY AGENT Dec. 6, 1966 E. P. KOLLAR 3,289,344

FILM RECORD CARDS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 25, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 5g 55 e m b 51- A/ l 50 #49 a; a

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United States Patent 3,289,344 FILM RECORD CARDS AND METHOD FOR MAKING THE SAME Ernest P. Kollar, Vestal, N.Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 332,401 3 Claims. (Cl. 40-158) This invention relates to film record cards in which individual microfilm sections are mounted to facilitate the handling, filing, sorting, projection and storage of the film sections and to an improved and novel method for manufacturing novel aperture cards adapted for such uses.

The present invention is particularly useful in the manufacture of film cards which are capable of being sorted mechanically or electrically as, for example, the wellknown IBM card and system in which the cards are perforated according to a code are sorted by electrically controlled apparatus responsive to the location of the perforations in the individual cards. Aperture cards of this type are in extensive use, particularly by the United States Government, with the annual usage of such cards running well up into the millions.

One of the main problems attendant with the manufacture and use of aperture cards which are machine processible is the requirement that the record card should have the film or the like mounted therein and secured thereto by suitable adhesive material with no portion of the film projecting beyond the card on either side so that the cards may pass through the machine without the film inserts getting caught and torn loose. It is also essential that cards be provided in which a film or the like may be mounted in a manner so as not to increase the thickness of any portion of the card. Any increase in thickness of such cards is very undesirable because even though the increase in thickness around the aperture area of each card maybe extremely small, say for example .001 of an inch, when a deck of hundreds of cards are stacked in the feed hopper of a. record controlled machine there will be a substantial difference in the height of one side of the stack as compared with the other and improper feeding of the cards will likely result.

In attempting to solve the problem of mounting film inserts so that they will be flush with the card surface, the prior art, as best exemplified by the Langan US. Patent Nos. 2,512,106; 2,587,022; 2,633,655 and 2,859,550, has made use of a depression or shoulder which is embossed in the cardstock surrounding the aperture. The film. insert may be adhered directly to the shoulder or to a film mounting sheet which is adhered to the shoulder. Although cards provided with such a depression did advance the art, they were not without shortcomings due to the fact that simply embossing or compressing the cardstock does not result in a depression or shoulder of sufficient depth to satisfactorily accommodate a film insert.

The thickness of the cards commonly used in electrical card-handling machines is .007 inch and the thickness of the film may vary from the thickness of diazo film which is aproximately .003 inch to the silver halide film: thickness of .005 to .0055 inch. Additionally, allowance must be made to take care of the thickness of the adhesive substance use-d to secure the film. It can be seen that for straight-forward mounting of a silver halide film insert onto an adhesive coated shoulder, it becomes necessary to compress the cardstock surrounding the aperture to a depth of .006 inch leaving a shoulder of .001 inch thickness. As a practical matter, it has been found that it is impossible to compress the present standard cardstock, which has a basis weight of 99 pounds per 3000 square feet and a thickness of approximately 0.007 inch, to a depth suflicient for the insertion of film having a thickness "ice of at least 0.0025 inch without deforming or pushing out the reverse side of the card. This is because the density of the compressed portion would then exceed the density of solid cellulose.

In view of this major problem relative to compressibility of cardstock, the prior art has been concerned with various means for mounting the film insert in a card provided with a compressed shoulder having a depth of from; .001 to .002 inch. As disclosed in the Langan US. Patent No. 2,512,106 mentioned above, use is made of an aperture-d sheet of pressure sensitive adhesive material secured to a compressed shoulder surrounding the card aperture and having a depth of 0.0015 inch. A narrow section of the sheet extends into the aperture with exposed adhesive thereon for subsequent mounting of a transparency in the aperture which has a depth of 0.0055 inch. This exposed adhesive is covered by a temporary sheet of glassine paper or similar material. Although this card could accommodate the relatively thick film, it proved to be objectionable in that the operations involved in preparing the blank cards, i.e., punching out the apertures and then applying the adhesive strips and the cover sheets, as well as the operations involved in finishing the cards including stripping off the cover sheets and disposing of them and then applying the transparencies to the exposed adhesive strips, both require objectionably elaborate and expensive apparatus which many users of aperture cards cannot justify the expense of purchasing and maintaining. It was also found that the necessarily thin mounting sheets provided a weak support and were suspectible to tearing.

Another mode advanced by the abovementioned Langan U. S. Patents 2,587,022 and 2,859,550 suggests heat bonding of thermoplastic materials to the card proposing to cover the aperture with a sheet of cellulose acetate and to bond its edges by heat and pressure to the edges of the card around the aperture. The material of this cover sheet was proposed to be the same as or similar to that of the base of the film itself, with the though that subsequently the film section and the cover sheet could be united integrally by heat and pressure to form a unitary transparency across the aperture. Although this card also accommodate the relatively thick film and eliminated the problem of using pressure sensitive adhesive and cover sheets, usually heat damage to the film resulted, such as clouding and/ or buckling or warping of the film. Moreover, the bond formed by heating the cellulose acetate mounting sheet and pressing it into contact with the card, or by doing the same thing to the edges of the cellulose acetate base of the film itself, as suggested in the Langan US. Patent 2,633,655, was unsatisfactory. If the degree of heat was only enough to soften the cellulose acetate it would not penetrate the fibers of the card and the bond was weak and unsatisfactory. Attempts to increase fluidity by raising the temperature usually caused warping or buckling of the card itself.

It became apparent then that an aperture card had to be produced which would not only accommodate the relatively thick silver film but which would also make it possible to mount the film thereon Without the use of mounting sheets, cover sheets, or undue heat and pressure. In meeting this problem, the present invention makes use of a special epoxy resin impregnated or coated cardstock. It is known that epoxy resin impregnated card or paper possesses very good dimensional stability regardless of humidity conditions and that it is tough enough to withstand relatively hard handling and is more resistive to bending and folding. In experimenting with grinding techniques, it was found that an epoxy impregnated card having a thickness of 0.007 inch can successfully be ground to a depth of 0.006 inch such that a thin web or shoulder of 0.001 inch thickness remains. It was also found that the epoxy resin not only eased the grinding operation but it also increased the strength of the remaining web or shoulder to a considerable degree to provide a better support for the film insert.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cardstock in continuous web form is impregnated with an epoxy resin composition prior to being cut into individual record cards. To form a film record card, an epoxy card is provided with a ground trench-like depression surrounding the area of the card which is to be apertured out. Then, the cardstock bordered by said ground trench is removed by a suitable cutting die to provide an aperture bordered by a ground card shoulder and a coating of an adhesive substance, preferably a hot metal type of adhesive, is applied to the ground shoulder by suitable gnavure means or the like. A film insert is positioned over the aperture and bonded to the adhesive coated shoulder by heat and pressure to complete the film record card, the card shoulder having a sufficient depth such that the opposite surfaces of the film lie between the planes of the opposite faces of the card. If desired, instead of impregnating the entire cardstock, the epoxy resin may be coated onto one or both sides of the card or it may be applied locally to and in the neighborhood of the region to be formed as a shoulder. Also, the coating or impregri'ation operation may take place before or after the shoulder is prepared.

Since in practice the film to be mounted may be nearly as thick as the card itself, it is important to produce not only a thin card shoulder in the order of 0.001 inch in thickness but also if an adhesive layer is used it must be extremely thin so that the combined thickness of the shoulder, adhesive and film is equal to or less than the thickness of the card. A second embodiment of the present invention relates to an epoxy card provided with a ground shoulder surrounding the aperture and wherein a plurality of holes of predetermined size, shape and number are lo cated in the remaining shoulder. These holes can serve as adhesive pockets, that is, pockets filled with the bonding material that is used between the shoulder and film. This permits the adhesive to be incorporated within the shoulder and hence either eliminates or reduces extended layers of adhesive which may influence the over-all thickness. The pockets may be formed by punching either be fore or after the shoulder is formed.

Accordingly, a principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved card of the type described wherein a film insert is secured between the opposite plane surfaces of the card without the aid of an adhesive coated mounting sheet.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved card of the type described wherein an epoxy resin impregnated or coated cardstock is used.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved film record card having a shouldered aperture and wherein adhesive pockets are provided within the shoulder for securing a film insert to the shoulder.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel and improved method for producing film record cards of the type set forth above, which method involves the treating of the cardstock with an epoxy resin.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one form of film record card constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view diagrammatically illustrating a form of grinding mechanism for producing the trenchlike depression in the card.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view diagrammatically illustrating one way in which the aperture may be formed in the card.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view diagrammatically illustrating one way in which the adhesive material may be applied to the ground shoulder of the card.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view diagrammatically illustrating one form of mechanism for securing the film to the adhesive coated card shoulder.

FIGS. 610 are sectional views taken along the longitudinal center line of the record card of FIG. 1 showing the card in various stages of completion.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatically vertical sectional view showing one form of apparatus for impregnating cardstock and the like with an epoxy resin.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a second form of film record card constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line 13-13 of FIG. 12.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view diagrammatically illustrating one way in which the aperture may be formed in the card and holes formed in the card shoulder surrounding the aperture.

FIG. 15 is 'a sectional view of a preformed card as it would be supplied to the customer prior to film mounting.

Referring first to FIG. 11, there is shown a preferred arrangement of impregnating paper and the like with a suitable epoxy resin. The paper used for the manufacture of film record cards is preferably standard cardstock which has a basic weight of 99 pounds per 3000 square feet and a thickness of approximately 0.007 inch. The resin system employed consists of an epoxy resin, one or more cross-linking agents and a silicone resin. The epoxy resin is a condensation product of bis-phenol-A and epichlorohydrin and has an epoxy equivalent of 0.38 to 0.48 mol per 100 grams and a viscosity of from 4500 to 40000 centipoises. The cross linking agent or agents may be from the class of polyamides such as General Mills Versamids and/or amines such as methylenetriamine, the dimethylaminomethyl phenols such as Rohm and Haas DMP-lO or DMP-30, and commercial products such as Araldite DP-l21 of the Ciba Company. The silicone resin used is Dow Corning 936, a heat catalyzed resin. Various known resin systems may be employed in the strengthening of paper and for the purposes of the present invention, the following system was found to produce excellent results:

Percent Araldite 502 (an epoxy resin) 67.60 Araldite DP121 (an amine curing agent) 3.72 Versamid (a polyamide curing agent) 25.30 Dow Corning 936 (a silicone resin) 3.38

The several components of the resin system are dissolved in toluene. With a given paper the percent impregnation will be determined by the solids concentration in the impregnating solution. The relationship is approximately linear and is given by the expression percent impregnation is equal to 0.21 percent total solids. The present system covers the range of 2 to 8 percent impregnation of the paper which corresponds to a solids concentration of from approximately 10 to 40 percent solids. Although toluene is preferably used, any solvent with which the resin system is compatible could be used.

As shown in FIG. 11, the cardstock 10 in continuous web form is passed by means of feed rolls 11 and 12 through a tank 13 containing the epoxy resin solution 14 described above. The web is thus saturated after which it is passed between a pair of scraper blades 15 and 16 the purpose of which is to remove the excess material from the surface of the web. The web is then passed by feed rolls 17 through an oven 18 having suitable electrical coils 19, or the like, for maintaining a temperature of from 250 F. to 350 F. For a complete polymerization 0f the particular resin system being used, it may be necessary to retain the web in the oven for from 1 to 5 minutes. When the web emerges from the oven it is bone dry and consequently brittle. It is necessary to remoisten the stock so that its final moisture content is between 4.5% and 6.5%. This is accomplished by passing the web, by means of a feed roll 20, through a tank 21 containing water 22 after which the excess water is removed from the web by suitable scraper blades 23 and 24. The web is then passed by feed rolls 25 and 26 on between a pair of cutting rolls 27 and 28 which sever the web into individual epoxy impregnated record cards 29. The cards 29 may be deposited in a suitable stacker 30.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an epoxy impregnated film record card 29 constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The card is provided in a predetermined location with an aperture 31 with the portions of the card surrounding and bordering the aperture reduced in thickness to provide a recessed shoulder 32. A coating of suitable adhesive substance is applied to the card shoulder 32 and a film insert 33 is positioned over the aperture and bonded to the adhesive coated shoulder. As shown in FIG. 10, the opposite surfaces of the film insert 33 lie between the planes of the opposite faces of the card.

In producing the film record card, a blank epoxy impregnated record card 29, as illustrated in FIG. 6, and having a thickness of 0.007 inch, is preferably first subjected to grinding operations to form the recessed shoulder portion 32 using grinding apparatus of the type illustrated in FIG. 2. The grinding is carried out in two steps and in the first step the trench-like groove or recess 32 bordering that portion of the card which is to be apertured out is carried to a depth of 0.005 inch. In the second or finish grinding step, the depth of the groove is extended to 0.006 inch leaving a remaining thin web portion, indicated at 34 in FIG. 7, having a thickness of 0.001 inch. The type of grinding apparatus used for both steps would preferably comprise, as shown in FIG. 2, of a rotatable grinding wheel 35 and a rotatable backup die roll 36. The backup roll 36 includes a raised die portion 37 having a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the trench-like groove to be formed. The apparatus would he adjustable with the one at the first station set for a grind of 0.005 inch in depth and the one at the second station set for a grind of 0.006 inch in depth. The grinding wheel 35 is preferably of aluminum oxide with a grit size of 60 and a speed of 3450 revolutions per minute. It was found that by using two grinding steps, as set forth above, a much better control of tolerance could be maintained and the desired thickness of the final ground shoulder could be held within i 0.0004 inch.

Very excellent results have been achieved using the above-described grinding technique which has been enhanced by the reduced frictional resistance of the resin impregnated card and the increased strength of the card material, particularly in the thin web area which remains after grinding. However, if desired, the trench-like groove in the epoxy card may also be formed by compression using suitable stamping dies and a pressure in the neighborhood of from 32000 p.s.i. to 48000 p.s.i.

The next step, as indicated in FIG. 8, is to remove that portion of the card which is enclosed by the trench-like groove to form the aperture 31 and this may be accomplished by the punching apparatus shown in FIG. 3 wherein an anvil 38 is provided with an opening 39 of the exact size of the aperture 31 in the card. A punching die 40 is adapted to be reciprocated toward and away from the anvil 38 and it is of the same shape as the opening 39 and of a size such that it just will pass through the opening 39 in the anvil. If it is desired to use compression to form the card shoulder 32 instead of grinding, this may be done simultaneously with the punching operation by providing the punching die 40 with suitable compression shoulders of such width and shape as to form the shouldered portions 32 surrounding the aperture. However, as was previously pointed out, if compression is used a shoulder having only a maximum depth of around 0.0025 inch can be obtained and the mounting terial 41 is coated onto the card shoulder 32 surrounding of the thicker types of films becomes a problem.

After the aperture is formed, a suitable adhesive mathe aperture, as is illustrated in FIG. 9. It is preferred to use a hot melt type of adhesive which is normally non-tacky but which becomes activated upon the application of heat. The adhesive material may be applied by any suitable means, such as by a spray or brush, or the like. However, as shown in FIG. 4, it is preferred to use a transfer mechanism which comprises a rotatable backup roll 42 and a rotatable transfer roll 43. The roll 43 has a raised portion 44 having a configuration corresponding to the configuration of the shoulder surrounding the aperture and which is effective to transfer the adhesive material 41 from a suitable supply (not shown) to the shoulder. In the case of a hot melt adhesive it may be desirable to have the transfer roll 43 made of a release agent-like material or coated with same.

As illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, the hot melt adhesive 41 is preferably applied to an excess amount so that it may be sufiiciently displaced during mounting of the film to provide a more solid bond. Upon application of heat and pressure, adheisve flow will occur around the peripheral edge of the film as well as in between the marginal portions of the film and the surface of the card shoulder. A further advantage is that in the case of some hot melt adhesives, the excess adhesive around the edges of the film can help compensate for differences in expansion and contraction of the film and card due to temperature and humidity eifects.

To bond the film insert 33 securely to the card, the film is positioned over the aperture and onto the adhesive coated card shoulder and the assembly is positioned on a suitable support 45 and subjected to the action of a reciprocating platen 46, as shown in FIG. 5. The platen 46 has edge portions 47 of a size and configuration conforming to the card shoulder and is heated by suitable electrical coils 4-8 to activate the adhesive coating 41.

The abovedescribed method has been applied to the complete manufacture of epoxy film record cards prior to shipment to the customer. It may be desired to ship preformed cards to the customer which are left unapertured so that the customer may machine process the cards first and then mount selected film pieces. In this case, the cards shipped would be provided with the epoxy impregnation, the trench-like groove surrounding the area of the card to be apertured and an excess deposit of nontacky hot melt type adhesive around the bottom of the groove as shown in FIG. 15. The customer may use apparatus of the type shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 to die out the aperture and mount the film piece to produce the finished card shown in FIG. 10.

Referring to FIGS. 12 and 13, a second embodiment of the present invention relates to a film record card 49 which is similar to the card 29 of FIG. 1 in that it is preferably impregnated with an epoxy resin and it is provided with a ground shoulder 50 surrounding the aperture 51. However, the shoulder 50, instead of being coated with an adhesive material, is provided with a plurality of holes 52 of predetermined size, shape and number. These holes serve as adhesive pockets, that is, pockets filled with an adhesive material 53 which is used between the shoulder and the film 54. This permits the adhesive to be confined substantially between the planes of the opposite surfaces of the shoulder and hence either eliminates or reduces extended layers of adhesive which may influence the over-all thickness. The adhesive 53 may be of the hot melt type which is caused to flow upon the application of heat and it may be deposited in the holes or pockets 52 by gravure means or by a suitable arrangement of spray nozzles. The pockets 52 may be formed by punching either before or after the shoulder is formed and may, for example, be formed when the aperture is died out by apparatus of the type illustrated in FIG. 14. Such apparatus comprises an anvil 55 and reciprocating punching die 56 of the type previously described except that in this case the aperture punching portion of the die is surrounded by individual punch elements 57 which overlie the shoulder portion of the card. Suitable recesses 58 are provided in the anvil to receive the punch elements 57 during punching of the pockets 52. Y

As another approach to the problem of reducing to a minimum the combined thickness of the film and adhesive, it is also possible to coat or impregnate the cardstock in the manner described above with a resinous material hav ing adhesive properties in addition to the strengthening properties. This will either eliminate the need for an additional layer of adhesive which forms the bond between the shoulder and film or at least enhance the bonding power'while minimizing the thickness of the additional layer.

It has been known that epoxy resin treated paper is greatly improved from the standpoint of toughness, dimensional stability, absence of warp and high folding strength. The application of such treatment to the manufacture of film record cards greatly contributes to a superior product in this special area wherein it is so necessary that the thin 0.001 inch thick web of cardstock which supports the film possess the above-mentioned improved qualities. It has been found that in the present resin treated film record card, the film is more positively retained between the planes of the opposite faces of the card by virtue of the strengthened card shoulder even when the card is subjected to extensive rough handling.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A film record card for use in card record systems comprising:

a relatively thin card of fibrous material impregnated with an epoxy resin composition for increasing the strength of said card;

an aperture in said card with the edge portions of the card surrounding the aperture being ground to a depth to provide a recessed shoulder;

a coating of adhesive material on said shouldered edge portions; and

a film insert positioned over said aperture and bonded to said adhesive coated shouldered portions, the opposite surfaces of said film insert lying between the planes of the opposite surfaces of said card.

2. A film record card for use in card record systems comprising:

a relatively thin card of fibrous material having a thickness of approximately 0.007 inch and impregnated. with an epoxy resin composition for increasing the: strength of said card;

an aperture in said card with the edge portions of thecard surrounding the aperture being ground to a. depth of approximately 0.006 inch to provide a recessed shoulder having a thickness of approximately 0.001 inch;

a coating of adhesive material on said recessed shoulder;

and

a film insert positioned over said aperture and bonded to said adhesive coated shoulder, the opposite surfaces of said film insert lying between the planes of the opposite surfaces of said card.

3. A film record card for use in card record systems comprising:

a relatively thin card of fibrous material having a thickness of approximately 0.007 inch and impregnated with an epoxy resin composition for increasing the strength of said card;

an aperture in said card with the edge portions of the card surrounding the aperture being ground to a depth of approximately 0.006 inch to provide a recessed shoulder having a thickness of approximately 0.001;

a plurality of holes disposed around said shoulder and extending therethrough;

an adhesive material deposited within each of said holes, said adhesive material being confined substantially between the planes of the opposite surfaces of said shoulder; and

a film insert positioned over said aperture and bonded to the shoulder by said adhesive deposit, the opposite surfaces of said film insert lying between the planes of the opposite surfaces of said card.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,012,288 8/1935 Roon 11712 2,587,022 2/1952 Langan 156108 2,612,711 10/1952 Baker 401-58 2,977,017 3/1961 Herzig 156108 2,984,921 5/1961 Herzig 40-158 3,159,612 12/1964 Tsou 117l55 3,210,238 10/1965 Gess 1l7155 3,212,206 10/1965 Langan 40l58 JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Examiner.

W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FILM RECORD CARD FOR USE IN CARD RECORD SYSTEM COMPRISING: A RELATIVELY THIN CARD OF FIBROUS MATERIAL IMPREGNATED WITH AN EPOXY RASIN COMPOSITION FOR INCREASING THE STRENGTH OF SAID CARD; AN APERTURE IN SAID CARD WITH THE EDGE PORTIONS OF THE CARD SURROUNDING THE APERTURE BEING GROUND TO A DEPTH TO PROVIDE A RECESSED SHOULDER; A COATING OF A ADHESIVE MATERIAL ON SAID SHOULDERED EDGE PORTIONS; AND A FILM INSERT POSITIONED OVER SAID APERTURE AND BONDED TO SAID ADHESIVE COATED SHOULDERED PORTIONS, THE OPPOSITE SURFACES OF SAID FILM INSERT LYING BETWEEN THE PLANES OF THE OPPOSITE SURFACES OF SAID CARD. 